The present invention relates to a resin or a resin-rubber extraction process utilizing recycled miscella and expression of guayule plants. The process can either be one-step or two-step depending upon simultaneous recovery of both resin and rubber or separate recovery thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,671,570 relates to crushing guayule shrub as in a tube mill. Water is then added and the guayule material and water are violently agitated by means of air, followed by separating the rubber particles lighter than water by floatation, heating said rubber particles and subjecting to water pressure and separating the rubber from the remaining particles by scrubbing and floatation. As such, this patent lacks any suggestion of applicants' use of any recycled miscella or subjecting the plant material to at least one expression. Also, it does not recover rubber by solvent extraction.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,281,336 relates to subjecting guayule plants to extremely high pressure as from about 5000 to about 100,000 pounds per linear inch of with thereby separating a fluid fraction therefrom and purifying the resulting emulsion with a non-rubber solvent such as acetone. This patent also fails to teach or suggest any utilization of recycling miscella as well as solvent extraction of rubber from guayule shrubs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,337 relates to a process of drying guayule plant material to a moisture content of from about 5 to about 25%, deresignating the plant material with an anhydrous oxygenated organic solvent and recovering the rubber, water-solubles and the like by water flotation. As such, this patent fails to teach recycling of the portion of the miscella to the guayule plants as well as solvent extraction of rubber from guayule shrubs.